Young Jedi, Lost in New York!
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: Ahsoka, Barriss, and the six younglings suddenly, and inexplicably, come to New York. At the first opportunity, the kids make a break for it, enjoying the sights, sounds, and tastes of the Big Apple, while Barriss and Ahsoka try to find them before they get themselves in deep trouble.
1. Crash Landing

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Star Wars: The Clone Wars_, and I am not making money off of this. It's just a little for-fun story with the little ones of _The Clone Wars_.

* * *

"Ow!" said Petro, "Watch it, Byph!"

The six "young Jedi" and their minders, Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee, felt like they had just been falling through a dark hole, like the floor of the Jedi Temple had given way and cast them into who knew where else, except Ahsoka and Barriss could've sworn that they fell slap through the floor without even leaving a hole, because nobody yelled after them when they fell. Now, they had landed on a hard, cemented, concrete ground of some sort. Ahsoka and Barriss had landed separately from each other, Katooni, Ganodi, and Gungi had landed in a heap, and Zatt and Petro landed beside each other, with Byph slamming down on top of them.

"Byph, next time you see what you think is a hidden lever, just leave it alone, okay?" said Zatt. "Or leave it to the Masters or to me to check it out."

Byph said in Ithorese what Katooni translated as, "Sorry, my bad."

"Yeah, and while you're at it, try not using me as a landing pad, all right?" said an annoyed Petro.

Katooni and Ganodi giggled. Gungi roared in a low voice.

"Younglings, you've got to see this," said Ahsoka.

Katooni looked around. "It sure doesn't look like any city I've ever heard of before."

"It almost looks primitive," remarked Zatt.

Byph shied away from the humans walking about, minding their own business, particularly those that gave him and his friends curious glances. Gungi offered to protect him from anyone who might attack them. Byph turned him down, though, saying that he had better courage than he used to have.

"Nice skyscrapers, though," said Petro.

"It almost looks like a primitive version of Coruscant," said Ganodi.

"I just remembered my research into places outside of our known galaxy," said Barriss, "And I think that this is called New York City. It's supposed to be the second largest city on the planet Earth, with a massive population of humans and animals, and plenty of both pollution and beauty. It covers several zones, like Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, for example, and there's a peninsula at the southeastern tip of the city called Coney Island."

"Hey, Ahsoka," said Ganodi, "As long as we're here, can we look around and see what's in this city? Maybe have a little fun?"

"I was about to say the same thing," said Petro, "After all, what's being a Jedi without some adventure and excitement?"

"Jedi do not crave adventure and excitement," said Barriss, "Or at least they _shouldn't_."

"Sorry, younglings," said Ahsoka, "but we didn't come here to have fun. Our journey here was entirely unintentional, and we need to find a way back as quickly as possible."

"Aw, you're no fun, Padawan Tano," said Petro, "Even Hondo Ohnaka would have been more fun in a situation like this than you are."

"Petro, we are _not_ going to get ourselves lost in a strange city, especially not one so big and complex," said Ahsoka sternly, "Is that understood?"

"Please, Padawan Tano?" said Petro.

"_Please_, Ahsoka?" pleaded Ganodi.

"It could be enlightening," said Zatt, "This place may be primitive when compared to Coruscant, but I'd still like to know what people do here."

Katooni said thoughtfully, "I'd enjoy a little bit of fun, too, but I think Ahsoka has a point. We can't stay in a strange place for long, especially not when we arrived here the way we did."

"But Katooni," said Petro, "how do we know that there's a way to escape? For all we know, maybe the will of the Force wanted us to come here. Masters Yoda and Qui-Gon have always said that to other Jedi."

Ganodi blinked. "You think the force _wanted_ us to come here, Petro?"

Petro smiled and shrugged. "It's not completely beyond possibility, Ganodi."

"Don't get any ideas, younglings," said Ahsoka, "The Force couldn't have sent us here. It was an accident."

"Qui-Gon didn't believe in accidents, Ahsoka," said Barriss, "And neither does Obi-Wan."

"Look," Ahsoka groaned, putting her hands to her head, "How am I going to get it into your little heads? We are _not_ going to play around here, and that's _final!"_

"Excuse me," said a human voice behind Ahsoka, "Who are you people, and why are you disturbing the peace here? The only time Times Square allows people to come here in costume is Halloween."

Startled, Ahsoka turned and found herself looking at a policeman. He looked like the "don't-mess-with-me" type. On a leash, he had a K-9 German Shepherd cop, which was looking (and growling) very suspiciously at Gungi and Byph. Byph and Ganodi cringed at the dog.

"Uh, well, uh," said Ahsoka, not sure how to respond to a human cop who evidently had never seen any aliens in his life before.

"I'll handle this, Ahsoka," said Barriss, stepping in front of the officer. "Officer, sir, We're just some good friends looking to have a good time in New York. It's just that most of the kids and my best friend here insisted on wearing realistic costumes while doing so."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Ganodi almost said, "We're not wearing-" but was cut off by Katooni, who didn't want Ganodi giving away their secrets, particularly not when the police officer probably wouldn't believe them, anyway.

"Well, I'm going to have to insist that they change back into normal clothes, because you might end up spooking some of the citizens here," said the cop.

Petro, who was looking for a way to escape the cop, and also to escape and have some fun, suddenly turned around and, with some clandestine help from the Force, shouted, "Thief!" making it sound as if it was coming from a farther distance than it actually was.

"A thief?!" the cop said. "You!" he said to Barriss and Ahsoka, "Stay right there! I'll be back!" The cop ran away to find said thief, taking his K-9 with him. Ahsoka and Barriss watched him run for a few moments, but only a few moments was enough distraction for Petro and the other kids to make their escape.

Byph and Gungi ran in one direction. Ganodi and Zatt took off in another, giggling as they did so. Petro was running soon, too. Katooni, who wasn't so sure about running away, tried to stop him, but he clapped a hand over her mouth and dragged her along with him.

Ahsoka and Barriss were relieved that the cop was gone, but when they turned around to check the younglings, they gaped at the spot where they had all stood a minute ago.

"Blast!" said Ahsoka, "I can't believe I was so negligent! Now we have to go look for them!"

"We shouldn't have let that voice or that policeman distract us," said Barriss. "Ahsoka, I think they might have split up. I can sense their Force signatures scattering all over the place, but I can't see any of them in this crowd. I'm afraid we'll have to split up, too, if we're going to find them quickly."

"Good idea, Barriss," said Ahsoka, "You go that way," she pointed into what was Manhattan, "but don't look _only_ there. I'll go this way," she pointed toward Brooklyn and the Bronx.

"Good luck, Ahsoka," said Barriss, "May the Force be with us both."

"Same to you, Barriss," said Ahsoka.


	2. Empire, M&Ms, and Central Park

**A/N: **I've only been to New York City once, and I don't have a perfect understanding of where everything in the city is when it comes to the streets and the zones, so forgive me if some of the characters seem to go from one place to another, much farther away, place in a very short time. I also forgot to mention in the last chapter, but upon their arrival in New York, Ahsoka, Barriss, and each of the younglings find themselves with a fairly sizeable amount of American cash in their possession in place of Republic credits, so that's how they will pay for things that they get in New York City.

* * *

"Petro, are you crazy?" demanded Katooni when they were a safe distance from their Jedi minders.

"Come on, Katooni," said Petro, "You said yourself that you'd like some adventure as much as the rest of us while we're here."

"I also said that it would be wise to take heed of what Ahsoka said about us sticking together and finding a way out of here, if there is one," Katooni reminded him.

"Well, yeah," said Petro, "But don't you think we could just take a look around? I mean, we're separated from Padawans Tano and Offee now. Come on, I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun to see this city…what was it called?"

"New York," said Katooni. "I still don't fully approve, Petro, but seeing as we're probably far away from Ahsoka and Barriss by now, unless they find us, maybe we could at least get a feel for what this place is like."

"That's the spirit, Katooni," grinned Petro, "Now come on, let's go check some stuff out."

"Well, where do we start?" asked Katooni.

Petro looked around, at the skyscrapers as well as at the smaller buildings. "How about that really tall building there? The one that looks taller than any other skyscraper in this city?"

Katooni looked. They didn't know it yet, but they were looking at none other than the Empire State Building, the tallest building in New York City.

"Whoa!" Katooni said, awed. "It looks like we could get a very good look at the city as a whole if it has an observation deck."

"I think it does," said Petro, looking carefully at the pinnacle of the tower. "In fact, I think it has two of them. Come on, let's check it out."

It wasn't until they reached the base of the skyscraper that they realized it was called the Empire State Building, because the sign on the side of it identified it as such. Just before going inside, a stranger noticed them looking at the tower with interest, and said to them, "Hey, kids, if you're looking for adventure here at the Empire State Building, and if you have any money, don't forget to try the New York Skyride motion simulator on the second floor. It'll give you an aerial tour of New York, and the role of the pilot is supposed to be Kevin Bacon."

Katooni and Petro had no idea who Kevin Bacon was, but they thanked the nice stranger for the information and asked her which floors the observation decks were on.

"The open observation deck is on the 86th floor, and the enclosed deck is on the 102nd floor," she told them.

"Thanks a lot, miss," said Petro. "Me, too," said Katooni.

"Any time, kids," said the lady.

They watched the lady go, and Petro said, "I guess we didn't get too much suspicion from her, us not being from around here."

"Of course not, Petro," said Katooni, "You're human, and I'm a Tholothian near-human. There's little, if anything, to suspect."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Petro. "Come on, let's check this stuff out."

"Which observation deck shall we go up to?" asked Katooni.

"Let's try the open one on the 86th floor," suggested Petro, "I like the open air, and it'll give us a bigger view of the city around us."

"Okay," said Katooni.

They soon found one of the elevators inside, and they went up to the 86th floor, which actually required more than one elevator. At the top, on the deck, the two younglings were amazed at the expanse of the city before them. Everywhere, there were tall and short buildings to be seen. They could, however, see that there were also a few natural parks, one of which was quite large, and on a large island off the shore of the southern tip of the city, there was an amazing turquoise-colored statue of a human lady dressed in a toga, holding a torch and a tablet with words stenciled on it, and wearing some kind of crown. It was an astounding sight.

They overheard a human Earthling child saying to his parents how awesome the Statue of Liberty was. The parents replied, "She should be, John. She's America's first great symbol of freedom and liberty."

"So that's what it's called," said Katooni. "This country must be one magical place if it has sights like this for people to adore."

"I'll say," said Petro. "I wonder if it would be possible for us to get inside of it, assuming it has an inside. It must have a great view of the city, too. Say, Katooni, have any idea what that is?" He was pointing to a small, forested area among the skyscrapers where a couple of perfect square depressions in the ground were. It looked like there were waterfalls inside each of them.

"I don't know," said Katooni," but after we check out the New York Skyride, I'd like to check it out. The Force tells me that feelings of grief are coming from that general area, like a tragedy happened there once."

"Doesn't sound very fun," said Petro, "But it might still be worth seeing, so I'll follow your lead this time, Katooni."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ganodi and Zatt had run into one of the stores that dotted the streets of Times Square to take temporary cover from Ahsoka and Barriss.

"You think we lost them?" Ganodi panted.

"I think so," said Zatt. "I don't sense either of them coming this way. As long as we're careful where we walk, I'm sure we can enjoy this city."

"Excuse me, kiddies," said the store's clerk, "I don't know why you're dressed like that, but are you going to buy something, or leave, or just stand around and rave with each other all day? Because if it's the third thing, I'd suggest you take it outside. My customers are looking at you funny, and so am I, for that matter. I could lose business!"

"Hey, that's just rude!" said Zatt.

"Yeah, and this is how we normally dress!" said Ganodi.

The clerk blinked. Evidently, he wasn't exactly referring to their clothes. "What I meant was, are you going to but any M&Ms or Hershey's candy today? Because I frown on people who come in here just to make noise, especially if they're kids!"

"Candy?" exclaimed Ganodi. "Why didn't you say so? Let's have some!"

"I _did_ say so," said the exasperated clerk, "And you have to pick out which ones you want yourselves, for Pete's sake. My gosh, were you kids born yesterday?"

Ganodi frowned. "Of course not! That's a stupid question!"

The clerk squinted back. He didn't like being played for a fool by some funny-looking little girl. Customers were starting to chortle at this exchange.

"Never mind that!" he said loudly, "Either buy something, or get out, or I'm calling the police, and they'll find your parents, or whoever's supposed to be minding you!"

Ganodi's eyes widened in terror at the idea of Ahsoka being called to pick them up. Zatt did, too.

"Okay, okay!" said Zatt, "I'll take…one of those chocolate Hershey's bars with almonds."

Ganodi said, "And I'll have a bag of regular M&Ms."

"Do you have money to pay for these?" asked the clerk.

They looked in their pockets and found the cash they needed. They were surprised at how much of it there was there for them to spend.

"Yeah," said Zatt. "Here you go, mister." They paid for their candy. The clerk put the Hershey's candy in two bags and put the receipt in with Zatt's candy bar.

"Now do me a favor, and step out of my store quietly," said the clerk warningly, "I don't need more embarrassment today than I already have."

"Yes, of course, sir," said the younglings, and they sprinted out of the store. Outside, they laughed at their narrow escape from getting in trouble.

"That was close!" said Zatt. "I didn't think we'd get out of there safely without that guy calling Ahsoka and Barriss."

"With a few more narrow escapes like that, we could become Jedi Knights even quicker than Jedi normally are," remarked Ganodi.

They chowed down on their candy while standing off to the side of the line of buildings, keeping as inconspicuous as possible as they enjoyed their food.

"Hey," said Zatt as he nibbled on his chocolate bar, "This world's chocolate is just as good as the chocolate made on Coruscant. I could enjoy it all day long if I could."

Ganodi was gobbling up her M&Ms eagerly. "This M&Ms bag says, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.' I could eat hundreds of these and still be able to hold a firm grip on my lightsaber. How do you like that?"

"Sounds cool to me," said Zatt.

After finishing their candy, they decided to take a look around and find something to have fun with. Zatt whipped out his datapad and tried to adapt its machinery to scan New York. He was tech savvy enough to succeed in the end.

"Check this out, Ganodi," said Zatt, "Not too far away from each other are a couple of places we might each find interesting. There's a building called the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, where they display all kinds of modern technological machinery. And relatively close by is F.A.O. Schwarz, the oldest operating toy store in North America."

"A toy store?" exclaimed a grinning Ganodi. "Where? I gotta see this for myself! I love toys!"

"I can show you on my datapad," said Zatt, "But I intend to go to the Sony Wonder Lab myself, so I'm afraid we'll have to split up. Technology is my kind of toy, not dolls, action figures, puzzles, and building sets."

"Oh, that's okay, Zatt," said Ganodi, "I took care of myself when the rest of you went to rescue Ahsoka from Hondo Ohnaka, and I have my lightsaber in case of an emergency."

"I'm not sure it would be a good idea for us to use our lightsabers around here," said Zatt, "We could all get in big trouble. But if you're sure you can handle yourself, Ganodi, have fun and good luck. I know I will at the Technology Lab."

"Good luck to you too, Zatt," said Ganodi. And after Zatt carefully showed Ganodi how to get to F.A.O. Schwarz from where they were, they were on their separate ways.

* * *

And in the meantime, Gungi and Byph had made it as far as Central Park. Upon entering, and learning from a sign that it was called Central Park, they stared around them with astonishment at how this steel city could house such a large and beautiful park. Byph told Gungi that he wanted to take a closer look at the trees and the wildlife in the park, and Gungi replied that he was hoping to see some of the other sights in Central Park. So, like Ganodi and Zatt, they split up.

Byph walked about until he found the Tisch Children's Zoo within the Central Park Wildlife Center. There were lots of sheep, goats, and pigs mucking around on the ground, and although some people balked at Byph's alien appearance, he was (eventually) allowed to pet some of the animals, which seemed to feel an unusual affinity for the young Ithorian worshiper of "Mother Jungle." With bravery in the face of staring people that surprised him, Byph also found the Central Park Carousel and rode on it for a short time. He even found Shakespeare Garden and admired the flowers and other plants that were in it, and tossed a penny or two in the Bethesda Fountain.

Gungi found the Ramble, a set of twisted, climbing paths, and tested his strength and endurance by climbing the rocks. He took a walk through the Great Lawn, too, unintentionally disturbing some of the locals having a picnic, and found Strawberry Fields, which was a memorial to deceased Beatle John Lennon. Gungi wondered what had happened to him, and how he had come to deserve it. He and Byph were reunited at the Conservatory Water, where they raced small radio-controlled boats against each other and some other young folks. In the end, Gungi was the winner of that race.

Gungi and Byph both agreed that Central Park reminded them of Oa Park back on Coruscant, and that Oa should have had even more fun things to do, like Central Park had.


	3. Toys, Tech, and Tragedy

Katooni and Petro had enjoyed both the observation deck and the New York Skyride in the Empire State Building, but their next stop was going to sober them up for a little bit. After leaving the building, they walked in the general direction of the depressions in the ground, until they came upon the two holes on the ground. They looked around to see what it was called.

A sign identified it as Ground Zero Memorial, the former home of the destroyed World Trade Center Towers, once the tallest buildings in New York. They read about how foreign terrorists had sent two airplanes full of innocent passengers on a suicidal collision course with the towers, causing them to collapse entirely. About three thousand people, both inside and outside the towers, had perished in the destruction, and thousands more rescue personnel and first responders had died in their attempts to salvage everything they could from the wreckage and clean up the mess. Now, two pools of mirrored water, complete with artificial waterfalls, had been set up in the towers' place, and lining the bases of the pools where people walked was smooth, gray stone, with tens of thousands of names etched into them. They were the names of all the American casualties of the terrorist attack.

The kids could see that dozens of people were visiting the memorial even now, maybe even as much as a hundred at a time. Some of them seemed to be paying their respects to a lost friend or loved one, because those people were in tears. A few were using a kind of rubbing paper to preserve the etched names for themselves to keep.

Petro looked around sadly. "It looks like, whatever exactly happened here, it must have been terrible for everyone involved. I wish I could have shown those maniacs a thing or two, but they were suicidal. They didn't want to be taken alive."

"Something tells me that the whole country took it hard," said Katooni. ""I can sense it in the Force. Even after the cleanup is complete, this place stinks of death. And I can sense the strong feelings of these people visiting the site; feelings of pain, grief, and loss."

"So can I," said Petro, "But don't let this place make you grow up too quickly, Katooni. Like you said yourself once, we are children, and children have to live innocently as long as possible before they put away their games and their toys."

"But that doesn't mean I-no, we-shouldn't pay our respects to a tragedy like this," said Katooni, "The Force tells me that even children died in this terrible event. I mean, what sort of foreign country would want some of its military to come all the way over here and murder millions of innocents, going down with them so as not to be caught?"

"A really sick one, I imagine," said Petro.

They noticed a little girl and an old woman, who may have been her grandmother, staring at one of the names on the memorial nearby.

"Grandma," the girl asked her, "Are you sure that mommy and daddy aren't ever coming back?"

The grandmother replied, "I'm afraid not, Lucy. Your parents are with the Lord now. They can't come back to this world."

Lucy cried loudly. But the grandmother said, "Don't worry; it's not like you'll never see them again. We'll both see your mother and father again in heaven, with Jesus."

Lucy got her crying under some semblance of control. "I hope so, Grandma. It hurts so much."

The two of them walked away, quietly talking about how people apparently had a conscious afterlife if they died in the embrace of a god known as "God."

Katooni looked impressed. "That's one wise grandmother, to control her granddaughter like that. But I wonder who this God is that she spoke of?"

"Doesn't matter to me, Katooni," said Petro, "What matters to me is that they're willing to pay their respects and their love to their lost ones. There are too many gods throughout the galaxy for us to know which one of them is the one they speak of."

"I guess you have a point there, Petro," said Katooni.

"So, shall we move on, do you think, Katooni?" asked Petro.

"No, not yet," said Katooni, "I wish to meditate on the Force here and search for the essences of the dead victims, find out if they truly are at peace somewhere in the universe."

Petro looked a little disappointed that they couldn't have more fun yet, but he consented to stay for a little longer, and joined her in meditation.

* * *

Zatt had found the Sony Tower, meanwhile, and after convincing an employee, with a little help from the Force, that his bare feet wouldn't get the floor all dirty or germy, he found his way to the exhibits. He had found the "sensi-tile" wall very astonishing in the way it created unique reflections in response to his touch. He then proceeded to log in to his SWTL experience on the 'log-in' computer, and soon he was exploring the wonders of Sony technology.

Zatt spent some time examining the Internet Map, using his datapad to figure out how it worked. "This blows!" said Zatt. "Even where I come from, we don't have computer technology as elaborate as this! The Internet could solve a lot of problems the Republic has with its corruption, I bet!"

A young, black boy of about thirteen or fourteen was looking at him curiously, and said to him, "You look just like a miniature Kit Fisto, you know that?"

Zatt started at the mention of Master Fisto's name. He looked at the boy and asked, "How…how did you know about Master Fisto?"

"You look like you just came out of _Star Wars_," said the boy with awe, "This is too cool! Hey, guys!" he shouted, to Zatt's embarrassment, "There's a kid here who looks like Kit Fisto!"

Soon, kids were clamoring around Zatt. "He's a little young and small for Kit." "He looks so cute!" "Are you really from _Star Wars_?"

Zatt told everyone nearby to be quiet. "Look, I don't know what _Star Wars_ is, but I'm not Master Fisto. I'm Zatt, a Jedi youngling. And I do things differently than he does. He loves nature and animals above most other things, but I'm a tech whiz. That's why I'm here, to check out the Sony Wonder Technology Lab. That's all. I'm not some kind of celebrity, like Master Fisto is."

The kids looked amazed to hear all of this. "Well, why didn't you say so, Zatt?" said the boy who had spoken up before. "My friends and I know all there is to know about Sony tech. Hi, I'm Bruce."

"Oh, hi, Bruce," said Zatt uncertainly, shaking his hand.

"There's more to this place than just the Internet Map, you know," said one of Bruce's friends, "Come on, there's more this way!" He led Zatt to other parts of the lab.

And for the next hour or so, Bruce and a few of his pals showed Zatt the ropes with Sony technology. With Bruce's help, Zatt learned how devices like a Sony Mobile cell phone, a PlayStation Portable, and a Cyber-shot digital camera, worked. Zatt remarked that he thought he could have hours of enjoyment with a PSP, considering it to be almost as useful as his datapad, which he also showed some of the less complicated details of to Bruce and his friends.

Andy, one of Bruce's friends, showed Zatt "In The Game," a set of three alcoves where people played PlayStation 4 games. Zatt aced all of those he had time to play, especially _LEGO Marvel Superheroes_. Zatt also learned some fascinating stuff from Signal Stations, Nanotechnology, Dance Motion Capture, GameBuilder, Music Mixer, Moviemaker, and Robot Zone, which he enjoyed the most, even though Earth robots seemed to be less sentient than droids from his own universe. He turned down the Virtual Surgery, though, because he insisted he had no talent as a Jedi Healer.

As they went along, Zatt told Bruce and the others some of the simpler details about the droids of _"Star Wars,"_ as they called it (they gave a general explanation of what it was), and the boys and girls thought he was the greatest guy they'd ever met when it came to tech stuff.

When Zatt decided to leave, they were sorry to see him go, but to his surprise, they wished that the Force be with him. Zatt thanked them for it before leaving. An employee that also took a liking to Star Wars had offered him a special gift, his own free PlayStation Portable, complete with a recharger, ten games, several PSP movies, and a few other accessories. Thanking the man gratefully, Zatt promised to treasure these items as best as a Jedi could.

* * *

At F.A.O. Schwarz, Ganodi was wide-eyed at all the toys that were available in this two-story store. Before starting to browse, she had played the Big Piano, having a ball hopping from key to key, and she was hysterical with joy and laughter, attracting the attention of several amused on-lookers. A lot of them found her Force-assisted jumps quite amazing. She had found so many things that so appealed to her big, eager eyes, she couldn't decide what to get. She didn't like the look of some toys labeled with the theme, _"A Nightmare on Elm Street,"_ (the finger knives sent a shiver down her spine), but she did like the look of some adorably cute _"My Little Pony" _and_ "Cabbage Patch Kids" _dolls, and also admired some of the toys from _Disney_ and _Disney Pixar._

However, she stopped and gaped when she came to a large section filled with stuff that looked like it was toys from her own galaxy. She saw the sign _"Star Wars"_ above the section where same toys were. _Awesome!_ She thought. _I'd love to take home some of these to play with! I'll bet even Master Yoda and Master Windu couldn't say no to them!_

Ganodi was amazed at how much a little Rodian like her could carry when she was finished selecting everything. Then again, when you use a combination of a shopping cart and the Force to carry your belongings, anything is possible. She picked up lots of Star Wars toys, more than she could carry with her two hands, and got numerous other toys and children's books from other themes and characters. By the time she was satisfied, her shopping cart was stuffed almost to the rim.

At the check-out line, the check-out clerk looked at Ganodi as if she almost didn't belong there. "You came for _Star Wars_ toys?" she said. "I'm not surprised. You look like Greedo, except in Jedi clothes."

Ganodi crossed her arms. "My name's not Greedo! It's Ganodi!"

"Well, excuse me, Miss Ganodi," said the surly lady, "But where are your parents? I would think they would be paying for all these toys."

"I have money," said Ganodi, "More than I need. And I don't know where my parents are. They must have given me up, or something."

The clerk raised her eyebrows. "You mean, you're an orphan? Well, then, why didn't someone from the orphanage, or foster parents, bring you here?"

"Uh," said Ganodi, suddenly remembering not to give away her secrets, "They trust me completely. I can take care of myself in certain situations, like this one."

The clerk blinked. "If you say so, little girl," she submitted.

"It's _Ganodi!"_ said Ganodi. The clerk said, "Whatever," and Ganodi paid for her purchases. She didn't fail to notice it took well over half of her money to pay for all of them. Then, to the clerk's surprise, Ganodi sprinted out of the store quicker than the eye could see with her shopping cart full of purchases before the clerk could remind her to leave the cart behind.

* * *

"Katooni? Petro?" shouted Ahsoka in an exasperated voice. "Ganodi! Byph! Where are you? This isn't funny! You come out, wherever you are, or when I hunt you down there's going to be heck to pay!" This search was proving fruitless, and Ahsoka was starting to become embarrassed, what with all the people looking at her, some of them with expressions of annoyance. Fortunately, she had brought along a cloak and hood that made her Togruta appearance a little less obvious.

"Where are those foolish kids?" she mumbled to herself. "Oh, if Barriss and I don't find them, I don't know what could happen to all of us!"

Barriss was feeling similar frustration where she was searching. She thought she had sensed two of the younglings at a place called Ground Zero, but by the time she got there, they were gone, and the strong feelings of mourning around the monument made it hard for her to tell where they had gone next.

_Where could they have gone? Why did they have to run away? Why are they putting Ahsoka and I on this wild bantha chase?_

_Why am I talking to myself? A Jedi has to concentrate on the here and now, like Qui-Gon said. Gee, those younglings are much better at doing that than I am!_


End file.
